Ocean Child
by SpeaksInRiddles
Summary: The currents brought the child to the lands, and the currents took her away again. As a dream is dreamt once more, another adventure begins for a weary envoy. "What do you mean, it's on another continent entirely?" "What? Ninjas?" "Gaia, why do you do this to me?" The chapters get longer and the writing better the further in the story. Will probably get edited in the future.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** Yeah... Finally an update and it's yet another new story... Well, you can't control plunnies I guess... The writing gets better near the end... Will probably edit this in a few months... So many '...'s...

* * *

 **Prologue  
** Sitting in a cottage near Port Skandia was a middle-aged woman. Not that you would guess that by her looks, by all appearances she was still a teen. Such was one of the blessings Gaia gave to her Envoys.

This was the one woman who was 'delivered by the Ocean', 'tempered by the Lands', and had 'Risen to the Heavens above'. This was the Hero of the Shadow Clashes, widely known as Uzu-sensei.

Well, she was once widely known, anyway.

Oh, not that people had forgotten her, they still told tales of her deeds, but very few would still be able to put a face to her name. And she both liked and loathed that fact.

Liked, because all in all, she had trouble with crowds, politics and backstabbing. She liked the peace and quiet. But on the other hand, she loathed the fact that of the people that had fought with her, very few were still alive.

It was natural, she knew. And while she had grieved them, she had been able to let go. This didn't mean she was heartless, but her story was one of the prime examples of what happened when one clung to their death dear ones with undying fervour.

She remembered that that adventure had started with a dream...

And it was why she was contemplating her current existence.

Because she felt it in her bones, history had once again begun moving forwards, and the dreams she had lately were to much like that fated one to ignore.

But was she ready for it? To jump into the unknown once more, leaving everything she knew behind. Being able to let go of her loved ones was one thing, but this was a step further.

She sighed.

But what did it matter? Because it was undoubtedly one she was going to take. If not because of her bleeding heart, then certainly because the World itself desired it. One could only resist such an immense existence for so long...

Her mind made up - or rather, resignated-, she stood up, stretched herself, and looked at her meager belongings. Little things, mementos of her journeys and friends once made.

She would have to sort it and pack it up, she could only hold so much luggage on the journey, and... She stopped there, as she was getting ahead of herself. First she needed an actual transport to the Continent described in her dreams. That wouldn't be easy to begin with.

She walked out of the door, and wordlessly cast the technique that would allow her to teleport to Port Skandia to take the warpgate to Navea. No need to waste energy after all.

A longer journey laid ahead of her still, but first things first: Contacting the Sanknie Alliance about possible new business ventures. The angelic looking woman smiled devilishy for a mere moment.

Tagging along with an expedition was infinitely much easier, even if the World was on her side already.

She might as well use that fame of hers to her advantage for once.

* * *

An ocean away, a toddler cried itself to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Next chapter will be longer...

* * *

 **Chapter 1  
** Cheers could be heard all across the deck, and Uzu couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief. Tensions had been high aboard for the better part of the past 8 years. A year into the journey people had begun to give up hope, some even thinking it a wild goose chase thought up by a dementing Envoy. There had been a lot of bad air brewing between her and the crew because of it, but it wouldn't do to give this up.

Uzu cringed, thinking back to some of the services she had to provide to keep them going. It had been bad, even if not of sexual nature. The latter probably was Alucard's fault. Or Eligos. She shuddered, Nah, it was undoubtedly Serif. The (eternal) youth could be quite threathening if he put his mind to it. In a passive agressive way mostly, but he did have the abilities to back it up.

Being the equivalent of an eternal 11-year-old, he still thought girls had cooties. He had his crush on Merrilee ofcourse -which still went unrepocitrated after all this time- but he was at the point were he believed them to be an STD, instead of something airborne at a short range or transferred by touch.

And boy, had it been fun too find that out. NOT. She had been red during the entire exchange. It had been during that affair with the Love Triangle of Alucard, Kotonoha and Bealdor. The first liking the second, and the third being attracted to the first, but in heavy denial.

She had to sit there and listen to Tigerius Ceasar explain the basics of love and sex to the younger eidolons on the sidelines. It came to the point that the usually calm Aelius was ready to bash in the Feline Emperor's head with his lyre for traumatizing Serena with his overly graphic descriptions. Even Cesela and Endora had been traumatized.

Fortunately Hansel had covered Gretel's ears rather early on, because the little girl would have escalated things quickly. Not due to her 'innocence', but rather her lack thereof. Oh, she was certainly cute and naive, but, -unfortunately- the girl also had the makings of a nymphomaniac.

And hadn't that been a surprise. You'd think that of the two of them, the wolf-kin brother would have been the sexual predator.

But she quickly zipped that train of thought. They were little kids for Gaia's sake! The youngest in the lot of Eidolons that had connected to her. Well, technically. She was still coming to terms with the 'ageless' thing, even if it applied to herself.

She was the first to set foot on land, through gliding the rest of the distance from the crows nest. The bay they were in was not all that far from a harbour, but she had insisted on scouting the place first. Seeing how she was by far the strongest non-spiritual being on board, and had her eidolons to help her when push came to shove.

Ofcourse she left a few behind, just in case the ship was attacked. She had chosen for the guards to be Yarnaros, Kusanagi and Bealdor.

Ofcourse since she had Bealdor out, she couldn't summon Hel, because her emnity still ran strong. Although the Queen of Shadows had been one of her first choices.

In the end she went with Nazrudin, Cyril and Sigrun as initial back-up.

Soon she was on her way, expectant, but slightly wary of what she would find.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2  
** Uzu had observed, learned and been disgusted. It turned out this chain of islands was called Nami no Kuni. The location was fortunate for the locals, yet she couldn't help but pity them. They seemed to be in an economic depression. People were starving left and right, and she had been forced to leave an eidolon behind to bury many a person, most of them children.

She forcibly detached herself from the situation for the most part, having seen worse on her many travels, but when she poked, prodded and listened, she soon lost hold of her emotions. One man had destroyed this country. Destroyed it's economy, destroyed it's people. For what? Greed? He was either a sadist or short-sighted fool.

But there was little she could do right now, safe for telling the other's to sail on towards the mainland.

Without her that is.

Which was exactly what she did. She summoned Bahadur and frankly told him,

"The situation, it's bad. Very Bad. Capitalized. I'm staying here to run damage control, and maybe get to the root of the problem over time. Tell them to sail on to the mainland."

It might not quite be time to cut off the head of the dragon yet, in fear of it's rampant claws, but she could slowly but steadily clip them first.

* * *

A few days later Uzu made a short trip by teleportation to the mainland, to exchange money. Gold was gold after all, even if the coins were foreign, and she sold a small part of the fortune on her at a hefty price.

The man at the counter stared at her, "Where the hell did you pull that money from?"

She merely stared blankly, and gestured at the small bags she had just pulled the gold coins from. The man across the counter had initially wanted to call bullshit, but then seemed to remember something, and with a final mutter of 'ninjas and their wacky jutsu' under his breath, he finished the transaction.

* * *

Two weeks later Uzu was beginning to regret her hasty decision to send the others ahead. She had learned more about the politics of this continent, and the image created was not pretty.

Something told her the expedition would be lost to the bowels of the beast, spirited away and possibly tortured for their information. A new continent, it was big news, big news reached spies, and spies reached the larger countries and there hidden villages. They would want to deny their rivals the information at al costs.

She hoped the Daimyous would get to them first, but wouldn't put her money on it.

Uzu felt incredibly guilty. If only she hadn't send them away... She could have used the ship as a base, and the men and women she had grown to know over the past decade would be safe.

* * *

The two nukenin had set up camp in what had been the shade of a giant tree during the last hours of daytime. They had made there preparations, and were ready to eat something, all the while discussing their plans. Or rather, Zabuza told Haku what they were going to do.

The latter stared at the former with doe-eyes. The nukenin sighed. "I don't like it either, but we NEED the money. The man is filthy rich and can pay well."

They sprang up as they heard a few notes of a harp plucked from above them.

"Show yourself", Zabuza demanded, and after a few seconds the sound of rustling branches and leaves could be heard, as someone jumped down.

* * *

She sat on the branch of a large tree, hidden from view, and decided this must have been a gift from Gaia. As she heard the discussion of the nukenin below her. She decided to pluck a few notes. She deliberated for a second, and decided to chance it.

"Good evening", she said cheerfully, as she dusted the leaves from her clothes. A sword stopped mere inches from her neck She admired the fact that he could pull back at the last moment, leaving her alive.

Zabuza's eyes narrowed and he moved the sword closer to her neck. "Who are you?", he asked, "And how the hell were you able to approach us?"

She shrugged, "I was here the entire time, waiting. This is one of the few places to set up camp in this region, and er heard you were passing through. My friends are keeping an eye on the other locations. As for who I am? A potential employer that goes by the name of Uzu. I heard your discussion and wanted to give an alternate offer.", with a small smile at their bewildered expressions she added, "I promise high pay?"

After tense negotiations the two nukenin agreed reluctantly.

Uzu eyed them. "Great", she said, clapping her hands and with a slightly creepy grin she said, "That's one more thing to cross off."

Zabuza and Haku gave each other a look.

Was this really worth it?

* * *

Uzu grew to to like Zabuza and Haku, the latter more than the former. The same happened in reverse. She grew on Zabuza, possibly like mould, And she and Haku bonded over herbal medicine. It wasn't until the topic hit his bloodline and training he had with it that Uzu's blood ran could.

"What do you mean, you've had no formal training!", she asked in what was very nearly a shriek.

Dear God, The boy might be decent for a self-trained ice mage, seeing how the element was literally written in his genetics, but it was still a disaster waiting to happen.

She tried to calm herself and continued, "How the hell did you manage that? Ice, as you undoubtedly learned during your experimentation, is a very volatile element. HOW are you still in one piece?"

Haku's answer was a startled stare and slightly sheepish look.

"That's it", Uzu said firmly, and flexed her will, summoning Shirayuki. The temperature immediately dropped as the Lady of Evening Snow came into being at this plane of existense. The eidolon gave her a slightly reproving look at being summoned in the middle of nowhere.

"I'm sorry to disturb you milady", she said humbly, "But this Boy here is a wielder of your element. I had not known this before, but while he relies heavily on it to survive he has no formal training. Undoubtedly, you can grasp why I am worried. I humbly implore you to enlighten him with your teachings."

Shirayuki looked at Haku, and her eyes softened.

"Summon me again tomorrow morning", she merely said. Uzu winced, Refined as she might be, the Lady was a harsh taskmaster.

This freely given help marked a change in the working relationship of the three humans.

* * *

She had ofcourse heard of Tazuna, and his attempt to get help from a ninja village. It was a small country after all. She had written the news off as useful, but with little immediate effect.

When she saw the team in the distance though, she stilled.

It worried her two human companions, and she was called out on it immediately.

"Those boys", she breathed, her eyes wide, "The blonde and blackhaired ones... The other two too, through association with them, I've never seen Nexi of Fate of such magnitude... The Fate of this continent, no, this world even, lies in their hands."

She stood there, even as they disappeared out of sight.

Haku gently led the shocked woman away to the house they had found.

* * *

It wasn't long until she had another encounter with one of the team. It was the teacher, a man by the name of Hatake Kakashi, who was, apparently, legendary for his knowledge of a thousand jutsu and something called the 'Sharingan'. He had sensed them - they had made little effort to hide themselves after all-, and came to scout them out.

The man clearly hadn't expected to be welcomed warmly by one of the three ninja, while the other two grudgingly stood aside.

"Welcome to our humble abode", the red-haired woman said with a wide smile, and offered him some tea. Kakashi didn't let his guard down. 'Poison?', he thought to himself. As he eyed the girl in front of him. That hair, her bone structure... It reminded him a bit of... Well, maybe she had Uzumaki parentage.

"Mah... How forward, you haven't even introduced yourself...", he said, trying to distract the girl, causing the woman to roll her eyes. "I'm Uzu. No last name that I know of. You undoubtedly recognize one of my companions, and I'm pretty sure he would kill me, consequences be damned, if I just blabbed the identity of the other one."

She clasped her hands together as she leaned forward.

"Long story short, I have hired them to help my cause. Which, for the moment, is the freedom and restoration of Nami no Kuni. We mean no harm, and will ignore you if you extend the same courtesy."

She paused, crossed her arms, and tilted her head for a bit, "Unless the parameters of your mission coincide with my goal. If you are willing we could form a temporarily alliance."

Kakashi send the other two nin a questioning look. Was this woman for real?

Zabuza merely shrugged, having gotten used to Uzu's direct personality. It was strangely refreshing after all the cloak and dagger stuff of the ninja world, but definitely uncommon enough to raise a few alarms to those who just met her.

"So far she's been both truthful and reliable...", he said bluntly. "False cheerful personality aside, she's genuine."

A pained look flashed across Uzu's face at that evaluation. But it disappeared behind a smile again in a mere moment. "If there's one thing I learned in my life", she acknowledged, "Is that brooding gets you nowhere. Besides, laughter is healthy, and with these looks I can hardly act my age..."

Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow at the last part of that statement.

Uzu smirked, "62 and still going strong..."

Make that maybe a likely. She seemed to have the lifespan of an Uzumaki at least.

* * *

In the end, he agreed to work with them, albeit in separate units. They may have convinced him in the end -well, slightly-, but that didn't mean he was going to let them near his cute little genin.


	4. Chapter 4

The urge Naruto currently felt might seem to be unnatural to those who knew or would come to know the boy, but he genuinely felt like stabbing something right now. Repeatedly. Preferably until it bled dry.

He paused. Okaaaa-y, that last bit might have been an exxageration, but not by much.

-Because kami-damn-it, voodoo dolls didn't cut it at this point...-

And yes, that might or might not have been an unspoken confession to a bad habit he quite possibly had.

(But you'd never hear him say it! 'Ttebayo...)

First of Kaka-nii... erh... Kakashi-sensei... disappeared off to whatever place he went, then Sakura had to go moon over Sasuke again, all the while hitting yours truly to bolster her subsequent waning self-esteem. Then Tazuna's little brat had to go run his mouth, and he couldn't even do something because 'even' he knew not to hit his female teammate, her object of infatuation, the client, and the latter's family.

As it was, he had settled for beating the shit out of the trees in this clearing he found, in order not to reminisce about just how shitty his life was.

After all, while he had Jiji, Kaka-nii, Teuchi, Ayame and Iruka-sensei, the fact that these people who genuinely wished him well could be counted on one hand...

Well, it was depressing to be honest.

But yeah. He wouldn't cry about it. Couldn't cry about it. He had sworn off being emo for the rest of his life, after he had been compared to Sasuke after a particularly bad week. That didn't mean he didn't brood once in a while -case in point-, but he'd never let it get him down for long.

* * *

Naruto woke up with limbs feeling like lead, causing him to scrunch his nose. He hadn't gone that far while training, did he? He definitely shouldn't feel this sore after only a few hours. And what was up with this falling asleep randomly? He knew better than that. Had to know better than that after...

He tensed, as he felt a presence near him. A soft giggle reached his ear, and this girl, erh... girl? At least he thought it was a girl, but he was getting confusing signals, and he couldn't figure out why for the life of him because the... girl..?

Ugh, it was clear he was just waking up, because his mind was running in circles.

"Who are you nee-chan?", he just plain out asked.

"Male for starters...", responded dryly.

Oh, this one was GOOD. He practically raised himself in the red light districts, and had seen plenty of crossdressers -mostly drag queens- as a result, but usually he was able to peg them pretty quickly.

The fact that he kept pegging this guy wrongly however...

* * *

Naruto laughed sheepishly after the slightly awkward coversation that followed this revelation. Not because of the coversation itself, but the fact that, in the comfortable silence that followed he had realized that...

"I'm lost, ttebayo..."

Haku had to stiffle another giggle.

"I'll lead you back... It's the least I can do..."

* * *

They returned to a tense Kaka-nii, who was glaring daggers at Haku, much to Naruto's confusion.

The boy in question raised his hands in self-defense.

"I couldn't help it!", the feminine boy argued against the unspoken accusation. "I came across him in the clearing two miles southwest of here, and well... I could hardly let him walk alone, when he professed to not knowing where the house was..."

"Eh..?", was the only thing that left the blond's mouth. Not quite sure how to fit these pieces of the bigger picture together. "Do you know each other?"

Kakashi shrugged, and Haku replied, "You could say that", the boy said, "I thought you knew", with a glance at the former. "Our units are tentative allies against Gato's oppression of Wave..."

"EEEEHH!"

* * *

Zabuza and Uzu were raiding one of Gato's storehouses in the meantime. That is to say, they walked in, cherry picked what they wanted, and walked out while Uzu's magic kept the guards in a slumber.

The redhead was reading through some old training scrolls from Uzugakure, having been attracted to them through the mention of the village that shared her name.

"Hmm... This Fuuinjutsu skill", she enquired, "Is it any good?"

Zabuza shrugged and absentmindedly said, "In the hands of a skilled practicioner it can do anything from sundering to creating Gods. But on the lower levels it's pretty meh, the same results being able to be gotten with plain Jutsu. Admittedly, having some seals on hand is handy, but I'm not really one to make them myself though. Too much fiddly stuff. A few storage seals on top of explosion and paralyzing tags are enough for me."

Uzu perked up. "Explosions?"

She was always looking for ways to augment the damage she did with her attacks, the base stats being rather low due to her choice to specialize in healing.

* * *

"My precious", Uzu cooed to her first explosion seal, rubbing it against her cheek, "I'm going to have so much fun with you..."

"Oh God", Zabuza groaned at the sight, "I've created a monster..."


End file.
